The Internet: Today's Evolution or Tomorrow's Menace

In reading we had a discussion on cyber-communication and i believe i can get my word out as well.

Perez Hilton is an amazing blogger. He speaks his mind without regards of whom he is insulting. He gets paid millions to insult celebrities online. Many of us find this as entertainment after a long day of work, but some get offended as for others get inspired. What are we teaching the young minds? That insulting strangers makes for a good living? Or that as long as you make money you are doing the right thing? What about the morals we were taught as children, that disrespecting hardworking men and women is a good thing? The internet has turned into a world no one understands. This is a world that has no limits. Youth today is unaware of the risks they are taking by surfing the web. There are pedophiles, cyber bullying, and many viruses going around the web. But the question today is, The Internet: Today's Evolution or Tomorrow's Menace?

During the past decade or so, the internet has been very useful and convenient for our way of living. Most of the world’s population relies on the web. Some use it as a social networking place, or some for cheap and quick entertainment, and some for business and educational purposes. Today’s society is really depressing. There are people in the world dating other people on the other face of the planet due to the internet. I understand it is a necessary way of communication, but it should have its limits. Zapp and Roger composed an incredible song in 1985 called “Computer Love.” This song is talking about how he is falling in love for a woman on his computer screen. He clearly states, “I no longer need a strategy Thanks to modern technology.” This is what I mean; no one goes out lunch anymore, they just log on to the internet and flirt through a cable and a keyboard. What happened to the old fashioned boy asking the girl out in person to the movies? Now they just send nude pictures to anyone without considering the consequences. There are children on the internet socializing through Myspace or Facebook and they might think that they are speaking to their peers. The truth is, they could be speaking to a 50 year old pervert. Many of today’s pedophiles are keeping up with technology like all of us. Take for example Stacy; she was a 13 year old girl who didn’t know what the internet was. She went to a website all her friends were talking about, “Myspace.” She soon fell for a young man named “chicken hawk.” After a month of chatting they decided to meet up at a McDonalds nearby and she decided to take a friend. The friend had warned her about sexual predators on the web. They were worried about what the result of meeting the guy would be, so they told her friend’s father to follow them. As they arrived they all were expecting a pervert. But they saw a young man named Daniel waiting for them.

Cyber bullying is another major activity occurring on the web daily. Cyber bullying is the same as bullying but it is done through text or email, usually anonymous, this is a factor to some suicides. Today’s society has become more aggressive and rude than ever. No one respects other people’s values anymore. This encourages teens to bully someone due to one or more characteristics. In stopcyberbullying.com, many guides have helped students and parents prevent cyber bullying. Nancy Lancer stated in her interview, Understanding Cyber Bullying and Sexting, that cyber bullying is “a way of preventing rejection.” All teens feel rejected and the only way to feel accepted is to keep up with the status quo. But the status quo of today is to be mean and aggressive. In my opinion, the media is to blame. Many Americans spend their time on the internet. We usually spend about 17 hours a week surfing the web. “Light users spent an average of 2.8 hours per week online, compared to heavy users who average 42 hours a week online,” states resourceshelf.com. Today’s teenagers prefer to be online than to join extracurricular activities at school such as sports and clubs. Educators and parents find it hard to get their children out of the house. The kids prefer to stay home than to visit a family member, I know this due to personal experience. These teenagers are either in social networking sites or playing games. They prefer to be with a computer than to be outside sightseeing or at the park. People do not socialize anymore in person. The internet is a very useful and advanced tool we all have access to. But I believe this is a very young thing. We do not realize what the internet is capable of. In the 90s, education introduced the internet, now we are using it for entertainment and communication. It has only been a decade that the internet was born. It will be capable of doing the impossible. But meanwhile we should be aware of how the use of the internet can affect children and teens. Cyber bullying and sexual predators affect our daily life. We can prevent this by reducing the use of the web.

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